Saturday, August 2, 2014

Stripe Design: Textile Patterns in Japan

Stripe
Design: Textile Patterns in Japan. Paperback back with dust jacket
published by PIE Books 2005, 207 pages with colour photographs as
well as a few black and white photographs and illustrations.

“Delightful
designs composed of multiple lines, stripe patterns became the vogue
as kimono patterns during the Edo period (1603-1867), and countless
combinations have since been created.”

I
like a good stripe and there's nothing better than a stripey bit of
textile which is something the Japanese seem to have mastered the art
of like no other country that I know of. Others may try but lets
face it the Japanese certainly can stripe in style. I've owned a few
stripey Japanese bits. There was a dressing gown/kimono thing that I
completely wore out over a number of years. There were only a few
threads left when I finally decided it was no longer the thing of
beauty that it once had been.

I
casually mentioned this book to a flesh and blood customer (in other
words, someone not on the interwebs) the other day and they got very
excited. They didn't know this book but they knew Japanese stripes
and had an appreciation that far exceeded my casual liking of pretty
patterns. And then I mentioned it to another customer whose obvious
disappointment at my lack of textile design books, quickly morphed
into a look of devoted interest. (Neither have taken the plunge... yet.)

I
think a book like this is very special and has something for anyone
vaguely interested in design of any sort. The stripe is something
that we all know, love and blindly accept as being there. This book opens
up the world of the stripe and one quick flick through its pages
opens up a whole new appreciation of the humble stripe.

About Me

Huc & Gabet: Books of interest is a secondhand bookseller based in Clunes (Booktown), Victoria, Australia. These ramblings are intended as amusement and are based on the informed and ill informed (more of the ill informed, than the informed) opinions of the author. Anyone interested in purchasing books from me can check out my website. There is a link above.